Clapboard-machine



BLISS CORSER, OF MOUNT MORRIS, NEW YORK.

CLAPBOARD-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 6,023, dated January 16, 1849. i

To all whom, t may concern Be it known that I, BLISS CoRsER, of Mount Morris, in the county of Livingston and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Machine for Sawing Clapj boards; and I do hereby declare the followf ing to be a full, clear, and eXact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1, isa top view, Figs. 2, and 3,

side elevations, Figs. 4f and 5, vertical longitudinal sections, Fig. 6, a transverse sec-v tion, and Figs. 7 and 8, are perspective views of detached portions off the machine.

Similar letters indicate like parts, in all the figures.

The nature of my invention consists in so j constructing the carriage and combining it with other parts of the machine, that when the thick plank,-or piece of timber of suitable thickness,-is placed upon the carriage and the machine put in mot-ion, it will automatically operate as follows: The portion of the carriage upon which the timber rests will have its side most distant from the saw, alternately elevated and depressed, so as to incline the front edge of the timber, in combination with the feed movement, in such a manner that the saw will cut from the timber-at each forward movement of the carriage-clapboards, double the thickness at one edge that they are at the other; their thick and thin edges regularly alternating from the top to the bottom of the piece oftimber. j i

The carriage is in two parts united to each other by hinges. VThe lower portion ofthe carriage consists of the side pieces P, P, con nected by suitable transverse pieces, and resting in guiding grooves upon the ways or rails a', a', on the beams A, B, forming the sides of the frame of the machine. The upper or adjustable portion of the carriage on which the timber is placed for sawing. is composed of the side pieces C, O, united by the transverse pieces E, E, E, G, G, &c., as shown in Fig. l.

The side piece C, nearest the saw R, is hinged to the side piece P, of the lower portion of the carriage, and projects over the same-extending nearly to the saw as shown in Figs. l, and 6. D, is a head block resting upon the transverse pieces E, E, E, to which the piece of timber to be converted int-o clap-boards is secured by means of the usu'al adjustable dogs e, e. .The piece vof i timber rests upon the transverse pieces' E, E, E, and the side piece C, of the adjustable portion of the carriage, and is fed up to the saw as follows: Racks I, I, are secured to,l

and project from the rear side of the headl A block, rest-ing upon and meshing into the pinions z', (Fig. 6,) on the shaftH; the shaft H-works inv bearings secured to the underV side of the transverse piecesof the adjust- 'able portion of the carriage, and has a bevel pinion f, on its rear end 'meshing into a bevel Y pinion h, on the extremity of the transverse shaft F,which works in bearings secured to the short pieces a, cz, connecting the transversepieces G,G,(Fig.` l.)

Theshaft F, hasa ratchet wheel b (Figs. l, andr 5,)Y secured upon it, `operated by the pawls c, c, upon the upper' portion of the vibratinglever d, as follows: lVhen'the carria-ge is run back, after sawing a clapboard, the lower' end of the lever (cZ,) strikes 'i against one or the other ofy the adjustable studs M, AN, projecting Ainward through the rear end of the machine, by which blow the lever is vibrated and imparts motion to the ratchet wheel Z), and shaft F,.and thereby to the shaft H, and racks I, I, of the head block D. The lever d, is supported by, andworks loosely upon the shaft F, by the side of the ratchet wheel Inland is throwniback into a position to be operatedV again-'after it has been acted upon-by aspring connected to it in any convenientmanner.y

An adjustable supporter orleg g, 1s made fast in the center of the,` outer side piece C, ofthe adjustable portion of the carriage,

which descends Vthrough amortise in the side piece P, of the lower portion of the carriage, and to a suitable distance below the same.

An axle p, (Fig. 7) is secured Y by the staples s, s, in bearings onY the upper.

side of P, by the side of the supporter g, having a tooth 1, projectingV from its rear side which lits into a notch onthe front side of g, when it is elevated, and retainsv it kand the outer edge of the upper portion of the carriage in an elevated position, during every other forward movement of the carriage, as hereinafter set forth. V, is a balserves to prevent the aXle p, from turning 5A `ance lever, secured a slot and nut tothe outer end of p, serving to throw the tooth r into the notch ing, when it iselevated,

. thickness of the wheel.

and thereby enables the tooth r, to support the weight of the outer side of the adjustable portion of the carriage and the timber upon the same.

L, is a lever let into a recess in the outer side of the side A, of the machine, near its rear end, and flush with its upper surface; m, is a fulcrum screw or pin passing through L, into A; the inner side of the rear end of L, is beveled off to allow its frontend to be vibrated outward; va springn., presses against the inner side of the rear end of L, pressing inward its front end, as shown in Fig. l. The lever L, has three inclined planes y', 7c, Z, rising from its front end, (Figs. l and 2,) by the side of each other; the central plane 7c, inclines to the rear, and the two planes j, Z, on each side of le, incline forward. A

tooth fw, projects from the inner side of the4 front end of L, through an aperture in A, having`an acute angled point as shown in Fig. 1. A ratchet wheel K, of the form rep-y resented in Fig. 8, is secured by its aXle 'to the inner side (A,) of the machine, opposite the front end of L, in the position represented in Figs. l, and 4.. The wheel K, has

six planes formed on its periphery, terminating in radial shoulders; every 1 other plane on K, is the full thickness of the` wheel; the remaining planes have a recess cut out from theirinner sides leaving them two thirds the thicknessoffthe wheel; at l (Fig. 8) where the thin planes join the ra` dial shoulders of the thick planes, a recess (corresponding with the shape ofthe point of the toothfw,) extends in two thirds. the The recesses hon' the inner side of every other plane, or tooth, of the wheel, terminate in the inclined shoul ders 2, communicating with the side of the wheel. f

Fig. l, represents` the proper position ofv the ratchetwheel' K, and the lever L, pre

vious .to starting the machine. 'The upper portion of the carriage resting upon the lowerportion thereof, and the timber to be sawed properly arranged thereon, motion being j given to the saw, and Vtherefrom im- Y parted to the carriage in the manner hereinafter to be described; the operation will be as follows: As the carriage advances the lower end of the supporter g, will be carried up the inclined plane k, and will elevate t-he outer edge of the upper portion of the carriage a sufficient distance to give such an inclination to the front edge of the timberbefore the saw commencesV operating--as will give the proper shape to the clapboard to be sawed at the next forward movement of the carriage. The supporter g, is retained inan elevated position by means of the axle p, and lever V, in thema-nner before described. o, fu, Fig. 4f, are pawls de scending from the 4carriage which operate the wheel K, when the. carriage is run back after the saw has run through the timber, (the pawl fu, is hinged to the carriage in such a manner that as the carriage goes forward, it passes freely over the ratchet wheel K.)

l/Vhen the carriage is run back, the pawl vv, strikes against the elevated point of K, and revolves it so far as to bring the point of the tooth w, nearly to the inclined shoulder 2, (Fig. 8) on the side of the wheel; and at the moment the carriage reaches the rear end of the machine, the pawl 0, strikes the topmost point of K, and moves it just far enough to bring the beveled face of the tooth fw, against the inclined shoulder 2, on the side of K; by which movement of `K, the front end of the lever L, is forced out a distance equal to one third the thickness of K. The lower end ofthe balance lever V, as the carriage moves back, will glide freely over the inclined plane Z, (moving vertically on the end of p, by means of the slot by which it is connected thereto) and `drop of Z. VThev carriage just before it arrives Vat the` rear end of the machine, (with the outer edge of the upper portion thereof elevated, as before described,) forces the lower end of the vertical lever al, against the stud M, imparting thereby suflicient motion to it and to shafts F, and H, to move the timber forward on the carriage half an inch; the

4moment this takes place, the carriage is again carried forward (in a manner hereinafter described) immediately after it commences its forwardlmovement, and before the timber reaches the saw, the balance lever V, strikes againstthe rear vertical termination A.of the inclined plane Z, and is brought nearly to a horizontal position,

thereby turning the aXle p, and disengaging the tooth r, from the notch in the supporter `g, causes the longer end of g, to rest at that vmoment upon the top of the inclined plane j; which serves to let the outer v,edge of the adjustable portion of the carriage gradually down upon the lower portion thereof, as the carriage advances.`

The amount-of motion given to the outer edge of the adjustable portion of thecarriage, is sufficient to `throw back the upper corner of the front side of the timber thereon, one fourth of an inch. It will therefore be perceived that, as the timber on the carriage was fedup half an inch in advance of the line of the saw; and its upper fro-nt corner thrown back half this distance, the saw will cut a clap-board: from the timber-as the carriage goes forwardhalf an inch in thickness at its lower edge, and a quarter of an inch at its upper edge.

When the carriage is run `back a second time, the fallA fv, strikes against the most elevated point of the'ratchet wheel K, and moves it to such a distance as to bring the point of the tooth fw, from the shoulder 2,l

. projectingthrough P,-passes freely within,

and unobstructed by the 'inclined .plane Z. Just before the carriage reaches the rear end of .the machine, (with its adjustable portion .resting horizontally upon the lower portion :thereof,) the lower end of kthe `lever d,-being in a vertical position-wizll strike against the stud N, receiving sufficient mot-ion therefrom to move forward the ytimber upon the carriage one fourth of an inch; immediately after this takes place, the pawl v0, strikes against the uppermost point of K,

and moves it a suflicient distance to allow the rpoint of the tooth fw, to spring into the recess 1, Fig. 8, thereby placing the lever L, and inclined planes y', 7c, Z, in the .position represented in Fig. l.

As the carriage advances again the outer edge of the adjustable portion thereof will be elevated, in the vmanner before described, a distance sufficient to throw forward the upper corner of the front side of the `.timber on ythe carriage, one fourth of an inch. It will therefore be perceived, that as the timber was fed up beyond the line of the saw one fourth of an inch, Vand its upper Vfront corner thrown forward the same distance in addition-by elevating the outer edge of the upper portion .of the carriage,-.a clap-board half an inch in thickness at its upper edge, and a quarter of an inch at its lower edge will be sawed from the .timber at this forward movement of the carriage. In this manner the operation is continued.

I have described the usual form and thickness'of clap-boards; it will however be readily seen, that by adjusting .the position of the studs M and N, and varying the length of the supporting .leg g and the height of the inclined planes to correspond therewith, that clap-boards orstrips of anydesired shape may be sawed `in my machine. By forcing out the front end-of L, and confining it ina sufficiently extended position,y

clap-boards/of uniform thickness from-edge to edge .may be sawed with vmy machine.

I will now proceed to describe the manner in which the carriage is automatically moved forward and back upon the machine. rEhe saw shaft O', is placed in suitable bearings in the side portion U, U, T, of the framework of the machine, projecting from .the side beam B. Motion is communicated from the saw shaft by means of suitable bands and pulleys, to the short aXle m, passing through the side B, of the machine, and. having its outer journal supported by the bearing Z, Fig. 3, made fast to B. On the inner side of B, there is a recess formed for.

the toothed wheelZ, while it J, located between the teeth of Zi', and Z, so A l I that by vibrating Y, the pinion (1d-may be thrown into gear either with one or the other at pleasure, causing the shaft J, to revolve slow in one direction, and fast in the .opposite.

W, is a shaft passing transversely through the machine, a short distance below the carriage, supported in apertures in A, andB, a pinion u (Fig. 5) von W, meshes into the rack e, on the under side of the carriage, i

and communicates `motion thereto.

yThe lever Y, is secured by .a fulcruin .pin to .the .inner side of B; at the front end of Y, there rises an elastic rod e', having ak notch on lts rea-r side, which catches vthe Y pin 71,', projecting yfrom B, when the yfront end of the lever is elevated, by which the pinion c', on J, is retained in geai with the driving pinion b, on m', while the carriage .is Acarried forward thereby; g, is a weight connected by aV cord to the front end .of Y, which retains the pinion a', in gear with is vimparting a .reverse movement tothe carriage. .X, is a vibrating curved ylever secured by'a ful` ioo Crum pin to the inner side of' B, in the position represented in Fig. 5; f', is an elastic rod rising from the rear end of X, having a .notch on its front side which is caught by` `f the pin 71,, when the front end of the lever Aiselevated, and retains it in the position represented in Fig. 5, till it is detached therefrom. A j j Y Vhen the carriage is at the yrearend of the machine in a proper ,position for starting,

Athe rear ends vof the levers X and Y, are both depressed by the weight g, suspended .to

rthe rear end of X, and the front end of Y,

is retained by the elastic rod e, and kpin h" in an'elevated position, with the pinion a,

onJ, in gear withthe driving pinion b', o-n

theaXle m. By thisarrangement of parts it will be seen that the saw shaft will communicatea forward movement to the carriage through the. medium of the ,axle 717/,V

*drivino4 inion inion a on'the shaft J As the carriage advances, the block t', Fig. 5) secured to and projecting from the under side of the carriage, immediately in front of the rack e, will strike against the elevated curved portion of the lever X, and pressV it i down aj distance suficient to elevate its front end to such a height that it will be caught and retained by the elastic notched rod f, and the pin 7L, as before described.

IVhen' the carriage reaches the forward end of the machine, the front end of t, will strike against the rod e', and detach it from the pin L, when the weight g, will draw down the front end of Y, vand throw the pinion a, on J, into gear with Z, which will instantly impart a rapid reverse movement to the carriage. At the moment the carriage reaches its starting position, the front end of t, strikes against the rod f', and detaches it from the pin it, allowing the weight g to vibrate bot-h the levers X, and Y, depressing their rear ends, and throwing the pinion a, vagain into gear with the driving pinion b, which will instantly reverse the movement of the carriage and carry it forward again. In this manner the care riage is operated back and forth, in co-mbination with the saw, and the movements before described for vibrating the adjustable por tion of the carriage, and imparting the feed motion to the head block, until the thick plank, or piece of timber placed upon the carriage, is converted into clap-boards.

Having thus fully described my improved clapeboard machine, what I claim therein as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combinationv of the several parts thereof, in such manner that it will automatically saw clap-boards of the shape herein described, viz., the vibrating` frame or adjustable 'portion of 'the carriage, hinged to the lower portion, the head block D, the racks I, I, (projecting from 1),) the shaft H, with the pinions z', meshing into racks I, I; the shaft F, geared to I-I; the ratchet wheel b, and vibrating lever d, connected to shaft F, the pawls c, c, on the upper endv of fl, playing into the ratchet wheel ZJ the studs M, N, projecting from the rear end of the` machine; the leg or supporter g; (descendj ing from the adjustable portion 'of the carriage;) thev inclined planes j, 7c, l, rising from the front end of the vibrating lever L, the tooth w, projecting from the inner side of L; the ratchet wheel K, secured to the side of the machine; the pawls 0, fv, (descending from the carriage;) ,the axle 7J, with the tooth 7, and balance lever V; the vibrating levers X, and Y; the axle m, the toothed wheel Z, and pinion b, on 777/; the pinion a, on the shaft J the pinion u, on the shaft IV, meshing into the rack e, on the under side of the carriage; the elastic notched rod e', Vrising from the front end of lever Y, the retaining pin 7L', projecting,

from the side of the machine; the weight g', suspended to the front end of lever Y; the elastic notched rod f,rising from the rear end of lever X; the retaining pin h, projecting from the side of the machine; the

weight g, suspended to the rear end 0f lever X, and the block t, projecting from the under side of the carriage; the above enumerated parts, or their equivalents, I claim the arrangement and operation of substantially as herein set forth.

2. I also claim the particular combination of the inclined. planes y', 7c, Z,` rising from the front end of the vibrating lever L; the j i respective parts for vibrating the upper portion of the carriage, the studs M, and N, the

vibrating lever d, the pawls 0,. c, the ratchet wheel b, the shafts F, and H, and the racks I, I, (connected to the head'block 1),) for the purpose of imparting the proper feed motion to the timber placed upon the vibrat ing portion of the carriage, substantially in j the `manner herein set forth.

4. I also claim the combination of the toothed wheel Z, having internal teeth-and the pinion b', on the same axle, with the pinion a, on thefvibratingend of the shaft J, and the"weighted levers andA spring catches, for the purpose of communicating a slow forward movement to the carriage and a rapid backward movement thereto, substantially in the manner herein represented and described.

Y By the foregoingclaims I do not intend to limit myself to the exact form, number, and arrangement of parts as herein described and represented, but shall vary them as I may deemexpedient while I attain the same end by means substantially the same.

The above signed in IVashington D. C.,

March 8th 1848 in presence oftwo witnesses.

v BLISS" CORSER. Witnesses:

Z. C. Romains,y l

J. EDMUND MILLARD. 

